The future of schools

Written by Press Staff Writer

November 12, 2009

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To the editor: The Oregon Schools have a remarkable administrative staff, particularly Dr. Mike Zalar, who has done a tremendous job so far as superintendent of the district. His first action was to reduce administrative costs and positions for a total savings of over $600,000. His next action was to trim another $3.5 million from the operating budget, bringing the reduction total to over $7 million over the past four years. Under Dr. Zalar’s leadership, Oregon has one of the best school systems in northwest Ohio. We should be proud of the work he has done to date and excited about the changes that he will bring in the future.

During my four years on the board of education, I have seen the desire of the students in the district to learn as much as they can, and I have witnessed the outstanding involvement of the parents in the district. Our students and their parents are the glue that keeps the district together. They have faced challenges as a result of the recent cuts, and they have banded together to ensure they continue to get a quality education. They want to learn and won’t let anything get in their way.

The next several years will only be tougher. As costs increase, the schools’ deficit will continue to grow. Additional levies cannot solve this problem, and the property owners should not be asked to be the solution. Property values are declining, and families are earning less in light of job cuts and furloughs. There are efficiencies that can still be realized within the district, but these cuts alone cannot solve the problem. Too many more reductions within the system will alter the way education is offered in Oregon, and it will be the students and parents that will feel the effects. Too many more tax levies will increase property taxes to an unbearable level and hurt those who live in Oregon and who call this great city their home. These challenges and others face the incoming school board members, and I trust that their wisdom will guide the district through these difficult times.

It has been my honor and my pleasure to serve this great community during my term on the Oregon City School Board, and I look forward to continuing to serve the community in other capacities. I encourage students, parents and staff of the Oregon City Schools to strive for excellence. Jeffrey S. ZiviskiPresident, Oregon Board of Education

Something’s wrongTo the editor: I can’t help but wonder why people are so worked up over the euthanasia of a dog, but will stand by while our country kills 3.5 million babies a year.

Is the value of a dog’s life worth more than that of an innocent baby? I am not condoning the number of dogs euthanized by the Lucas County dog warden, but just wonder where the headlines and vigils are to protest killing our country’s babies? If a dog’s death can generate this much outrage and not a child’s life, then there is something wrong with that.John PirrwitzOregon

Looking for a shepherdTo the editor: A year ago, we elected a black president by a substantial margin, even though many white voters were needed to make this a reality. We weren’t racist when we voted him in, but now we’re racist if we disagree with or criticize him. It seems that “race” is being used as a weapon. Are black folks racist if they oppose him too?

Participants in tea parties have often been misconstrued as insurance and health care tools. Being in attendance at some of these events has led me to disbelieve this theory. Rather, the mindset of the attendees is concern over government taking away our rights and putting itself in control of our lives. Though health care reform has been part of the discussions, it is by no means the only issue, nor is it necessarily the primary issue.

Many liberals choose to blame conservatives for spreading lies about the health care plan. However, if they listen with an open mind, they will see that much of the confusion comes from Congress and the Administration itself. For example, President Obama has said over and over that taxpayer money will not be used to pay for abortions. However, he insured that very thing would happen when he voided the Mexico City Policy right after taking office. Furthermore, there’s nothing in the health care plan that eliminates the possibility of taxpayer-funded abortion and that alone leaves the door wide open for funding in the future.

Much of the media, along with many others, choose to malign conservative talk-show hosts. This is bizarre when we realize that the reason they’ve been so successful is because listening to them can give you information that the mainstream media refuses to share. Though the regular media may be quieter and easier to listen to, what good is it when they only tell the half of the story they want us to hear? Noisy, hard-hitting talk shows would soon lose much of their popularity if we could depend on straightforward reporting from regular news sources.

In spite of what some critics say, Republicans are not fighting health care reform because it’s a Democrat plan. For many years, we’ve heard about government-backed healthcare in other countries ¬– some of this has been good, but much has been horror stories. Some folks want to believe that bad things never happened and socialized medicine is the answer to all of our problems. We could have more confidence that the health care plan was good enough for our families if it was good enough for the families of the president and politicians. In lieu of this, we must be very cautious because there are many in charge, from both parties, who are much more concerned with money and power than they are about us. They need to take time to do it right or we will all be victims of their negligence. And no one should ever be required to pay for or take part in abortion.

At times, conservatives have been referred to as sheep. And maybe that’s true. Sheep aren’t fooled by an imposter; they only follow the shepherd they know they can trust. Since he was in the Senate, Obama made it clear that he is no friend of life. All through his run for election, he courted the favor of Planned Parenthood (PP) and now he has campaign promises to keep. He has filled his cabinet with people who are no friends of the elderly, the disabled, the unborn and they are not supportive of the values that America was founded on. Now we are being asked to believe that he has our best interests at heart. As sheep, we look for the shepherd we know we can trust and that shepherd is not Barack Obama. We want their declarations written in stone because we have no confidence in this pretend shepherd nor his followers.

Life lasts from conception until natural death. Without life, who needs healthcare? Mary Jo Thieman BoschMillbury